I cover the State of West Virginia as part of my job. The people in West Virginia are largely the most respectful and kind people that you will ever find. When you drive in from Ohio or Pennsylvania you see the sign "Welcome to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia". I was stunned how overwhelming their support was for Donald J Trump. The amount of MAGA hats that I saw in the last campaigns was substantial. Unfortunately the people in West Virginia bought the Trump myth hook line and sinker. The attack on Medicaire by the billionaire class is beyond stupid. We are essentially going to remove medical coverage for millions of poor Americans because the 1% need another tax break. To make matters worse this is largely being done by a party that aligns itself with Christian Nationalists. Not sure what version of Jesus Christ they believe in? As I said to my employee Linda yesterday I will always remember being taught to sing a song in first grade at a Catholic elementary school in Ohio "And they know we are Christians by our love, by our love.....Not sure that those who have less are feeling the love? Completely lost on what Christian Nationalists actually believe in?
Your West Virginia population (like all of the US) was repeatedly warned about the consequences of voting for Trump. Cutting taxes for the most wealthy and cutting services for the needy was always on the table. This should not be a surprise. They are getting what they voted for, and inflicting Trump on the rest of the US and world. I'm sorry, but I do not pity them for losing their health care now under Trump, as harsh as that may sound. They are getting exactly what they voted for, plain and simple. I hope they all stay healthy.
You need to deepen your understanding. See my other post, please. You are condemning people who are living in conditions you can't imagine, and traumatized by the inescapability of that for believing the lying a**h**** who promised to make things great again. People often give their all to liars, frauds and cheats, out of a desperate need to believe they have something helpful to offer. It's sad. They deserve your understanding and compassion, not condemnation.
I live in the South so I know a lot of MAGA people. Also have more than a few in my extended family. They are all well educated and financially well off. Some are quite rich. Some vote on the delusional idea that Trump will be better for the economy and they don't want to pay taxes but most just want to own the libs. The things some of them say is beyond hateful. One relative told my spouse they wanted to see all Democrats put to death — knowing he and our immediate family are all Democrats. These people are like millions of MAGA people. They deserve no sympathy.
I wonder if he actually will put tariffs on Canada and Mexico? I think he'll go after Europe next. If Canadians keep booing America he might hit with tariffs. He's that petty.
I can see tariffs going off China and hitting our former allies instead. Defiance and defense of democracy and rule of law will be hard for Trump/Musk to swallow.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-MA) asked a few Trump apparatchiks lately, what Trump would have done differently if he were not a Putin plant. Occam's Razor still slashes.
The ones in my Southern neighborhood tend to be. I had a Democratic candidate's sign in my yard; I get trash thrown onto my lawn regularly. I can't prove these two are related, but it seems likely. My well-off neighbor across the street, with three cars for a household of two, flies a "dont tread on me flag." I called during a hurricane to tell them the cover was coming off one of their cars. The way the phone was answered made it clear that I was a nuisance--before they knew why I called.
Those who are not hateful are just ignorant, which is not much better. But in part they are ignorant because my state only requires that schools provide "a minimally adequate education." That keeps the grifters in office.
No, but many are. I would rather face uncomfortable truths about thr racism that continues to blight out nation than pretend it doesn't exist.
We had friends for 30+ years. In thr last five to seven years their intwrest
narrowed to politics. It was frustrating because we had share so many common interests. But when I begsn looking back at our conversations I had to recognize how many thry would quietly work in criticism of people of color, and other non-white groups.
We “ have” to try understand them yet zero effort is made on their part to try to understand people like me who didn’t vote for Trump. Instead we are told to cry our “liberal tears” harder. So I’m done trying to understand people who have no interest in me . And frankly want to hurt me.
I am not wasting any more time or energy trying to "understand " Uncle Bigot.
It is past time to begin facing the ugly truth that many Americans are angry, vengeful racists. If only those awful liberals,LGBTQ people and black people would just DIE. That's what these people want. Don't waste my time telling me that they are "wonderful and ki d" or that thry go to church. Their God is as warped and hateful as they are.
You are conflating what you are seeing from well off assholes on Twitter with those people living in these rural depressed places. They don’t have the luxury of being terminally online.
They overwhelming condemn democrats and “the libs”. They vote for policies that are killing & subjugating women & minorities across the nation. I’m over being told to look at them with compassion & understanding. They are never told to look at us that way. Let’s look at them with compassion all the way to the gulag guys!
Absolutely not. They deserve zero empathy. Their gullible hatred, bigotry and stupidity have put not only them in this position but millions more. along with all their offspring who will have to deal with climate change far worse than it needed to be. I hope all of them suffer in every way possible. To put it in terms they can understand, they Reap what they Sow. For the rest of us, its FAFO.
The problem is how can you make peace with people who deny reality exists? They’re so programmed by right wing propaganda they’ll actually believe the economy and stock market are crashing because of Biden, and increasing inflation and job losses are also not Trump’s fault. Sure there may be some low info dupes who finally realize 2+2=4, I guess those are the ones to work with. I just have little time or patience for these dummies who already saw this play out and still decided to vote for this corrupt whiny incompetent felon.
Perhaps they are getting one in voting against their self interest. The question what will these people do next. They certainly have the opportunity to get in their congressionals’ faces and say no but will they bother? Who knows. It is stunning the number of people I come across who buy the opinion media lies.
All very well, but how does that help the current situation? 70+million people voted for Trump. Do we patronize them all; do we owe them more understanding than they owe us? Their rationales are often religious and racial based: how to get past this? I just don't see how it helps! I want change but can't see how this effects it.
Sometimes people who do something to their own detriment need to go all the way down. They have to lose a lot and need their noses rubbed in the loss. I think it is safe to say from top to bottom, MAGAts auto-propagandize on Faux Snooze all day, every day and believe the lies. Maybe this will start to break the loop. Better than many people on here, as a retired Internist, I understand what people without access to healthcare go through and if the rethugs succeed in killing Medicaid, you are going to see a huge rise in unavoidable deaths and medical bankruptcies (something which doesn't occur in any other industrialized democracy).
Yes. Godwin's law and all that but the German people only learned their lesson after they lost a big chunk of the Kaiser's Reich in 1918 and then more chunks of it in 1945. Sad but true. But for those over 25 it's going to be a tough 30 years.
Compassion? Not anymore. 2016 may have been an aberration but 2024 was a deliberate choice. A choice for a lying, grifting, treasonous, adjudicated rapist and convicted felon. They KNEW who and what they were voting for.
No. I’m done understanding. Their choices are being inflicted upon all of us.
Look at his cabinet. Look at it the incompetence. Look at the lies. We’ve got a Russian asset at NSA, a heroin freak at NIH, another Russian asset at FBI, a dismantling of the FDA, FTC, EPA. Our military headed by a drunk and woman abuser. A complete abandonment of Ukraine and Europe. A dismantling of our armed services.
Their treachery will affect all of us.
Nope. No. I want anyone who voted for that disgusting human being and his policies to suffer the consequences of their decision.
Enough already.
I hope they cut Medicaid. I want them to wake the fuck up.
For those of us with a 90 year old paraplegic parent who is close to running out of assets the thought of Medicaid going away is terrifying. My parent incontinent and requires 24 x 7 care. I cannot care for my parent without help as I cannot move her by myself. She is not overweight but she cannot assist with moving herself at all. She needs to be turned every two hours to prevent bedsores. None of us are MAGA, but will suffer mighty if Medicaid goes away.
Those of you who are wishing that Medicaid goes away to harm MAGA voters are also condemning people who do not support those viewpoints to a loss of medical care. You are assuming that only MAGA voters are on Medicaid. That is not a valid assumption.
My parent worked all her life as a nurse. The majority of her career was during a time when nurses were not paid well and received no fringe benefits, like pensions or 401ks.
Remember that there are lots of old ladies in nursing homes who have exhausted all their assets and need Medicaid to provide care. Many of them are on hospice care.
I have a 93 year old mother as well. I do understand and don’t wish anyone on Medicaid ill.
But Tell me, how do we get through to these MAGAs?
Unless they themselves are affected or hurt in some way? West Virginians hair is currently on fire because TFG (THE GUY THEY VOTED FOR) has rescinded the insulin cap. Prices have skyrocketed back up and they are upset. Who they should be upset with is themselves for being taken in. Again.
They voted for this. Did they think this was all about arresting migrants?
Never mind that Americans don’t want that job, that food will rot in fields and prices will skyrocket. Again. What did they expect? That THIS guy gives a damn about them? He ran to stay out of jail. Musk was in the tank to ELEVEN different government agencies. Which agencies did he go after first?
What will it take for these MAGAs to wake the hell up? To vote against republicans who wrote the bill that’s cutting Medicaid? It’s the REPUBLICANS.
Their poor choices affects ALL of us. Only billionaires and millionaires will benefit from these policies. Not me. Not you. Not your family.
So I’ll ask again, what will it take for these folks to wake the hell up? Other than being personally affected. WHAT?
I'm beginning to wonder if the goal of the oligarchy is to change this part: "Americans don't want that job". Drive them to despair so they will take any job. Bring back the Bourbon Aristocracy, this time nationwide.
Medicaid is the largest single payer for nursing home care for the elderly and indigent (which is almost everyone over time bc nursing home care is SO very expensive).
He was there for all to see. And this time he ran a foul, vile campaign of retribution against "enemies from within." And they cheered. They will never get my compassion, they don't deserve it.
Leigh, with all due respect, maybe this is the only path forward for the country, long term—to finally make life so painful that this population of voters wakes up to the psychopathy and insanity of the GOP (a literal death cult) to ensure that future generations of poor and disenfranchised Americans don’t have to go through this, therefore saving more lives in the end.
But Harris and all other democrats also brand themselves as allies to the regular folks. Why Trump? I don’t want to believe they are all racist but it’s very hard to understand.
The right wing propaganda is very effective. I once read that Hitler first told a truth that everyone could believe, then he tied that to something that had a bit of truth and lies, then tied that to all lies. I listened to Rush Limbaugh with a friend of mine 40 years ago. That was exactly what he did. It's very effective.
Hearing lies over and over and over is also a very effective strategy.
Why are you surprised? Trump is a con man. He's been one his entire life. He lies as he breathes. Furthermore, Trump gave his supporters throughout this country the right to shout their racism and hatred. He told them it's ok.
Plus, thanks to SCOTUS he is immune for his actions, and the Republican members of Congress won’t impeach him. There are no remaining guardrails, so why would anyone expect him to suddenly develop any socially appropriate self-regulation? It’s been clear for decades he has no threshold of embarrassment.
They’ve never given a flying F about their supporters. TFG wanted to stay out of prison and musk was being investigated by 11 different agencies that he dismantled.
Wake up already. This was NEVER about helping their supporters.
You'll be excoriated for your views. You are supposed to be empathetic, compassionate; communicate with the victim; understand where they're coming from. On the other hand, if you deny people - adults - their agency, their ability to make their own decisions and be responsible for them - you are excoriated for that, too.
Correct. I read an article in either the Post or the Times to the effect that all of Trump's ads talked only about high prices. Nothing about any of the stuff that was getting press coverage elsewhere. If you didn't see anything but Fox stuff and didn't read any press that wasn't a Murdoch rag, you couldn't see any of this coming.
I think most people thought that Trump’s most radical ideas were bluster. Yes, by know people should know better, but he’s an effective snake oil salesman.
To gmfeld, if these people were educated I would agree with you. But West Virginia stands at 50 out of 50 in educating its children. Generations of semi-literacy in a population 90% white tells me these people haven't a clue. They are being told by their legislators 'You are poor because the libs take all your money and give it to colored people'. Their preachers tell them the same thing.
I lived in WV for over 20 years, and you are right about how nice people can be there, but it is a clannish place, nonetheless. One way to understand this is that the poverty and ignorance has resulted in a kind of PTSD, and people who are traumatized often cling to imagined 'saviors' who promise to help. Kind of like a woman with low self esteem who marries a brute who lays it on thick that he loves her, she's beautiful, etc., and then proceeds to beat her half to death every time she fails to satisfy his insane and self-centered demands. When I see Trump & Co., I see echoes of this. These puffed up degenerates are sucking the life out of us in a creepily similar way.
West Virginia could have been Colorado - they have mountains, rivers (with some of the best rafting anywhere), access to local agriculture, lots of outdoor activities, but even closer to large population centers. But they chose to embrace their underground natural resources and not their recreational resources and instead of prospering (year round) like Colorado they are a declining. Totally agree on an individual level lots of really nice people.
They did NOT choose to be exploited for their natural resources. They were exploited by the very same types of people(wealthy, greedy) that are exploiting them again.
We do have the view that WVA is a state dominated by coal mining. The biggest employer in WVA are in health care and related fields. Coal mining employment has declined mostly because of automation. If we are going to hard rock mine coal we really do not want a large workforce as it is very dangerous.
The preference for mining turns out to be an even worse choice with these factors - you are not getting jobs and ruining the landscape. Also as they have mined out the best coal seams they are now mining deposits with a lot more rock intermixed resulting in sky high cases of silicosis (black lung disease) which is a horrible way to die. Drive through the state and you will see competing billboards looking to hire new miners and looking to sign up existing miners to sue their employers for silicosis. The underfunding and industry capture of MSHA - driven by republican politics - makes this an even sadder story.
Christian Nationalists are not Christian. They are Old Testament believers - the ones who were disappointed that Christ didn't come here to become a warrior king. Christianity is all about the sermon on the mount and the sermon at the last supper. It is not about punishing the poor.
they HIDE behind the word Christian..if Christ where to show up ;) he would NOT APPROVE - no no no - NOT Christ like behaviour ...THEY ARE NOT CHRISTIAN...more cult like really
"Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods. He believed in love and peace and never wore no shoes. Long hair, beard, and sandals, and a funky bunch of friends. Reckon they'd just nail him up if he came down again." - Kris Kristofferson.
I disagree. Christianity as centuries of nasty, reactionary behavior of all kinds. It is a weakness that Christians should be on guard for. Religionists welcomed the liberalist order and religionists have tried to destroy the liberalist. Reserving some view of 'true' Christianity is unwarranted.
People who follow the crazy stuff like Leviticus, the one they cherry pick to be against homosexuality.
"I say we call them Leviticans, after Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament, famous for its rules, and also the home of the passages most likely to be thrown out by Leviticans to justify their intolerance (including, in recent days, against gays and lesbians -- Leviticus Chapter 18, Verse 22: "Thou shalt not not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination").
To suggest that a Christian is actually a Levitican is not to say he or she is false in faith -- rather, it is to suggest that their faith is elsewhere in the Bible, in the parts that are easy to understand: The rules, the regulations, all the things that are clear cut about what you can do and what you can't do to be right with God. Rules are far easier to follow than Christ's actual path, which needs humility and sacrifice and the ability to forgive, love and cherish even those who you oppose and who oppose and hate you. Any idiot can follow rules; indeed, there's a good argument to made that idiots can only follow rules. This is why Leviticans love Leviticus (and other pentateuchal and Old Testament books): Chock full of rules. And you can believe in rules. That's why they're rules."
I feel compelled to give more information on Leviticus.
There are many teachings in the Old Testament that we find abhorrent today. Only Orthodox Jews follow the letter of the law. There have always been reinterpretations of passages written over the years by Biblical scholars. The Old Testament is thousands of years old.
The name "Leviticus" comes from the Greek word Leuitikon, which means "connected to those from the tribe of Levi". The book of Leviticus in the Bible is named after the Levites, a priestly group from Israel.
Key themes in Leviticus
Holiness: Being close to God, obeying religious laws, and maintaining purity
Atonement: The process of repaying a debt and purifying oneself
Sanctification: The idea that receiving God's forgiveness should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth
What's in the book?
Leviticus explains how to have personal access to God through worship
It details how to be spiritually acceptable to God by living obediently
It introduces the five basic categories of sacrifices: burnt, grain, well-being, purification, and reparation offerings
It includes rules such as not mating different kinds of animals or wearing clothing woven of two kinds of material
The overall message of Leviticus is sanctification. The book communicates that receiving God's forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and ...
Chuck Swindoll
Leviticus Meaning - Bible Definition and References
E] The third book in the Pentateuch is called Leviticus because it relates principally to the Levites and priests and their services. The book is generally held...
Bible Study Tools
Book of Leviticus | Guide with Key Information and Resources
“Leviticus” is the Latin transliteration of the Greek Leuitikon, which means “connected to those from the tribe of Levi.” The name Leviticus reflects the import...
The Bible Project
Leviticus: What Is Atonement? - The Bible Project
Jun 6, 2022 — The Hebrew word for atonement, kippur, means two things: to repay a debt and to purify. Whether we're talking about levitical sacrifices or Jesus' de...
BibleProject
Holiness Code in Leviticus | Chapters, Themes & Analysis
In Leviticus, holiness means being close to God and acting according to God's will. It means maintaining purity and obeying religious laws.
Bible Study Tools
Bible Gateway Leviticus 19 :: NIV - MIT
"`Do not mate different kinds of animals. "`Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "`Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. "`If a man sl...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
What is the meaning of the levitical Law?
Levitical Law stresses separation from all uncleanness and sin in order to live wholesome, God-honoring lives. At the same time, it recognizes Israel's proneness to sin and shows the need for atonement and cleansing in order to maintain their relationship with the holy God.May 20, 2019
What was the purpose of the Levitical Law? - Quora
Did Jesus write the book of Leviticus?
Jesus did not write any book of the Bible, but, he did leave the disciples to write down everything that they saw concerning him and the accounts of the …Oct 7, 2021
Book of Leviticus | Guide with Key Information and Resources
What are the rules of Leviticus?
"`Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "`Do not practice divination or sorcery. "`Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. "`Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.
The main point of the Book of Leviticus is to instruct the Israelites on how to live holy lives so that God would dwell among them. The book emphasizes the idea of sanctification, or being set apart from the ordinary and becoming holy.
Key themes:
Holiness
The book's key theme, which is emphasized by the Hebrew word qadash, which appears over 150 times
Sanctification
The idea that God's forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth
Sacrifice
A way to atone for sins and to praise God
Priesthood
The appointment of priests as special representatives who can go into God's presence on behalf of others
I’m well aware they were rules for a tribe to help keep them alive, in a time when they didn’t know why people got harmed from things like shellfish in the summer months, or pork that wasn’t cooked properly. These were people who knew nothing of germs, or even where the sun went at night. What I take issue with is attaching another tribe’s rules to your book, to usurp their authenticity.
Have you ever noticed that what Christian nationalists preach has nothing in common with Jesus’s teachings or the example he set? Jesus could not have cared less about people’s sex lives — not one mention of abortion or homosexuality but a lot of talk about caring for the least among us. That is why the Pope recently slapped down JD Vance’s twisted view of the obligations of Christian love and why he has been pushing right wing Catholic US bishops to focus on the teachings of Jesus, not on culture wars.
Thry might be wonderful, kind people, but they are largely white and never ever think that they might lose benefits. It will only be THOSE PEOPLE ( code for people of color) who havr been stealing their benefits. If WV suffers a wave of hospital closures and worse health, thry brought it on themselves. I am not wasting my sympathy on racists and fools.
You meant to say Medicaid, not Medicare... There are many reasons for the rightward shift- guns, a general belief in libertarianism, etc.. Krugman has written many articles about the demise of high paying (but very risky) coal jobs in W VA. The right blames it all on the libs, which is partially true (Coal combustion and mining are awful for health and the climate), but more of the job losses can be explained by mechanization. I sadly believe the only way for certain people to change how they vote is when they lose their jobs and their health insurance while also experiencing higher inflation on the stuff they buy (think Walmart crap and eggs).
Thank you for clarifying Medicaid, not Medicare, is the immediate target for reductions. As for people changing their voting habits after they lose jobs and experience inflation, they didn’t after the 1981-1983 recession and haven’t changed since then. Despite manufacturing and natural resource extraction employment declining by 10-15% and inflation running above 5%, the voters most harmed by that recession voted for Reagan again. Over the past 50 years “Republican” has become an identity cult, not a political party. I once had some hope younger generations would become the solution to this problem, but the results of the 2024 election showed they are just as susceptible to identify politics as their parents and grandparents. Sigh.
And there you have struck upon why the GOP administration and Congress arrogantly believe they can harm their voters as much as they want to support the top 1% and still retain the votes
That's because the damage by Reagan didn't hit them hard enough to change their vote. This time, they're gonna get hit good and hard. That might just be enough to wake them up.
Except this time, after Trusk is done they are not going to matter. There's enough voter suppression already and 2026 is going to see massive manipulation, and by 2028 we can see reelection (or the anointing of Kim Jr. Oops I meant Donnie).
I think there's some truth to that. I also think Democrats will finally wake up and scream bloody murder at the scam. If it gets bad enough, it could trigger Civil War 2.0.
I hope it doesn't come to that, but King Krasnov is playing with some seriously volatile substances. It might blow up in his face - literally.
I think we have seen the rise of 'Republican Jesus'. I remember one of the higher-ups in the Southern Baptist Convention lamenting in the last couple of years that his flock were telling him the Beatitudes were too woke...
Christian Nationalists are the latest version of the KKK. No stupid hats and robes though...
Yes, WV, and other ruby red states, bought the trump BS hook, line, and sinker. And now they will be struggling like a fish out of water for taking the hook again..
Thank you for this. I, too constantly remember singing that in church. "They will know we are Christians by our love". And being stunned that so many folks who claim to be Christians putting up "mass deportation now" signs and "they're eating the cats and dogs". And the like. That does not seem like love to me.
The people in need voting for Trump have a fatalist approach to their lives. The Calvinist theology requires that if they are not predestined by the grace of God to life enjoyment then must suffer enough to convince God thay there has been a mistake and they belong under His Grace.
I don't know about that. I do know that the church in western North Carolina in which my mother was raised put a great deal of emphasis on the sanctity of poverty. The gospel says something like "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into Heaven."
They believe in eugenics. They are afraid of homosexuals and trans people, they see them as the dawn of an evil era. They are very childish and immature. Jesus for them is an orderly world. They call upon Jesus to create a world where whites are highly placed and all people of color are lowly placed. For this segment of society, Christianity is a means to impose homogeneity and conformism on the world. It is an anemic world view and I am glad that the horrific consequences of these valurs are so readily visible at this time. Christians are not about love tolerance or humanity. They are about control and power and even genocide. It is time to eviscerate the Christian movement which is seeking to impose a rigid and ruthless theocracy on America, to eradicate sexual freedom, eradicate reproductive freedom, re-enslave Blacks, crush women and force them back into the kitchen.
As a physician working in a lower income area, I am grateful that Medicaid allows me to take care of people so that they don't suffer and die from catastrophic neglected diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Babies can be born healthy. Countrary to the lies being put out there, undocumented patients are not eligible for Medicaid. Emergency medicaid could apply to undocumented, but only for emergency treatment, which saves hospitals from bankruptcy when they are required to treat anyone who walks through the door. Also, pregnant women can all get emergency medicaid during their pregnancies which more than pays for itself avoiding horribly expensive care for premature and terribly sick newborns. Only sociopaths want millions of people to suffer so that a few people can add to their excess.
I know three doctors (Canadians), who returned to Canada after stints in the U.S. because, as one described it to me, "even though I make less money in Canada, in Canada I can practice medicine", precisely the environment you describe.
It's because big money has systematically bought up most media, and the information & opinion we get from them reflects their politics. Congress has been bought for a LONG time. They just managed to hide it.
Eric—thank you for choosing to practice medicine in a low income area. Also for clearly stating how Medicaid so positively allows you to do this. Carry on!
Gutting Medicaid would be catastrophic for health care from hospitals to sold practitioners. The community mental health services systems across USA would shut down. People would die. We need a general strike. Everyone stay home
Exactly. Calling for a general strike when the US working class can’t even manage to organise car manufacturing in the South seems a little….ambitious. No?
That’s precisely the point. Strikes are important, but the US working class is, shall we say, a bit out of practice lately. Calling for a general strike in those circumstances is simply childish performative nonsense, typical of the US left.
Unions have been decimated and now we see why we need strong unions. America will not be a safe place to live if sick people become homeless beggers and children who don't get vaccines and health care start dying. Disease and poverty will explode from the inner cities onto all the pretty suburban streets.
Agree with the need for a general strike (and with the idea that very bad things are going to happen to people). After Reagan fired the air traffic controllers and opened the door to corporate attacks on unions, we came close to a general strike in 1981 when unions still represented over 30% of workers but the Reagan hardhats in the building trades had outsized control through AFL-CIO president George Meaney and they vetoed that idea.
”Probably the most well-known scientific journal Nature writes a very serious editorial calling on the entire global research community to raise their voices. The freedom of research and the basic conditions for work are now being systematically attacked in the United States and affect the whole world.
Nature writes about how the Trump regime's attack on science means that thousands of scientists have been laid off, how funding is frozen and how certain words in scientific reports are banned. The repressive restrictions we see the repressive and authoritarian Trump regime subjecting research to hit the entire global research. It dismantles basic infrastructures such as databases and digital services, which directly threatens research worldwide, and our ability to conduct independent and evidence-based studies.
Nature further writes that grant review panels at the National Institutes of Health have been suspended, that USAID has put most of its 10,000 employees on furlough and made buildings and sites inaccessible. The consequences are dire – at least one million women have lost access to contraception, the United States plans to leave the World Health Organization, and all federal funding for international climate projects, equivalent to $11 billion (10% of global climate finance), has been suspended.
When research in the world's leading research nation falls silent under political repression, our ability in Europe and the world at large to fight climate change, respond to pandemics and develop technologies that are crucial for security and sustainability is also weakened. What we are now seeing is a systematic attack on science.
It is clear that an attack on American academic freedom not only harms democracy there, but also has repercussions for research and science throughout the world. The world is becoming a darker and more dangerous place. Less rich in thoughts, ideas and insights.
As researchers, we must contribute to making visible what is happening. We must stand up for those who are threatened with censorship, demand that these restrictions be lifted and remind that a world without free research is a world where prejudice and oppression risk replacing critical thinking and scientific progress.”-Carl Heath, RISE
It's also really bad for business. Destroying R and D, and the regulatory agencies that give assurances of safe and effective are terribly damaging.
I don't think they are doing it purposefully, but Trump is ignorant except of entertaining and grifting, and Musk is limited to anything but his chose passion. Right now he's fixated on ruling the world, which means crushing anyone who gets in his way.
It is obvious these No Nothings want us all to be know nothings. Driving down thought and scientific inquiry—critical thinking—and replacing it with mystic blather is a hallmark of totalitarianism.
Professor Krugman: anyone who has been paying attention over the last few decades knows that the GOP is the party of "Greed Over People". and, as you noted in this piece, rethuglicans are proud to vote for the GOP because they expect their party will focus their hatred and viciousness on "Those People" rather than gawd-fearing white people, such as themselves.
Something the other side never thinks about: People without access to healthcare get sick and spread disease. Even if a person is completely selfish, as Republicans are, that alone should be enough for them to want everyone to have access to healthcare so that THEY don't get sick! But, they don't see this because they are completely blinded by their hate for vulnerable people.
They don’t care because “I am not one of those people, associate with those people or know anyone who is or does. No reason to worry because I am safe.” Short sighted, unimaginative thinking, but here we are.
Yes. There is fundamentally a different way of thinking. Dems ask honestly, what will happen? GOP chooses not to ask but assumes that they know what will happen. Unimaginative and not curious; lacking in empathy and somewhat amoral.
Some diseases for which there’s a vaccine are making a comeback. Big outbreak of measles in Texas. One child has died. But the vaccinated are mostly unaffected.
My son is an avid player of video games - but he is also politically aware. We were talking this morning about the destruction of USA and he summed it up quite neatly in his 'gamer' language. "I'll be really glad when this is all over", he said, "feels like we're playing life permanently stuck in hard mode'.
As a person who came to WV as a young adult and closed out my therapy career there, working in a clinic that served the underserved I could never fully understand how so many 'real' West Virginians were voting for Republicans, even though most of my clients had Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and similar benefits largely unrolled and supported by Democratic administrations. One fine day when a member of WV's Supreme Court came to town the two of us sat at the corner table of the towns sole brewery bar and I asked him about it. He said, "It's because of what they hear preached at them from the pulpit every Sunday." Hmm. And how is it that those churches haven't lost their tax free status for violating the separation of church and state? And how is it that supposed Christians are so benighted? OMG.
Thanks for the facts about Medicaid. I'm not so poor, so I didn't know much about it. Politically, it seems that the Trump Party's efforts to gut it might rebound in their faces. But, they do have a way of blaming their faults on the Democrats. Look for those poor folks in W VA to think that somehow it was Joe Biden who took away their benefits.
Speaking of "overpriced drugs" and inefficiencies…
I'm on Medicare with Part D drug coverage. I take Eliquis the costly blood thinner.
In 2020, the FDA approved two versions of Apixaban, the Eliquis generic, for the US noting, “Today’s approvals of the first generics of apixaban are an example of how the FDA’s generic drug program improves access to lower-cost, safe and high-quality medicines”.
Big Pharma, in the form of the Axis-0f-Evil "Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Pfizer-Alliance" howled. In 2021 they sued the FDA and got a patent extension till '28 - to milk more $$ from America!!
What's the point? Eliquis costs $650 for the 1st refill, then $270/refill the rest of the year. Next year? Same-same.
Screw that! I got a copy of the script from my doc, sent it to a Canadian pharmacy that charges $105 for every refill of Apixaban, made in the UK, saving me over $1000/yr.
Never happen. Never their goal. Their goal is to make everything far more expensive - more profitable and to privatize central gov functions (PO, Weather, FAA).
Did you check pricing on GoodRx or Mark Cuban’s website? Or check which part d insurers include eliquis on their formularies so your yearly out of pocket drug costs would be capped at $2000? I’m a SHIP volunteer and help seniors navigate these waters all the time. I’m guessing you didn’t ask for any help.
Thx Susan, I did check those sources, but via our former-allies, Canada and the UK, i'm buying Apixaban at the price the WHO negotiated (as I understand it) of $95 + shipping. My annual cost will be $420 (meaningful to this old hippie-chick) and I don't take any other meds, so no danger of hitting the $2k max. Thanks for your good work. Anne
Nursing homes! Medicaid is *the* source of their funding. That's the only way most people can have nursing home care - burn all your assets paying for it, then go on Medicaid.
I think the internal dynamic of these red states is that it's local country club crowd (the folks who own the car dealerships, fast food franchises, rental properties - all non-traded goods) who fund the state and republican apparatus that want to cut Medicaid because they don't want to pay the state tax contribution to these programs.
Tennessee spends about $3 Billion on Medicaid each year (matched by about $6 billion in Federal Medicaid matching). That's out of $11B of total state tax collections - so it's a sizeable chunk. If Medicaid is cut by half, then that's a 10% tax cut for our fine local Republicans.
(You're right that TN doesn't have an income tax, but it has an investment tax, a high-ish sales tax and a solid corporate tax.)
I’ve recently retired, after a career building medical programs and practicing medicine in populations covered by Medicaid. I want to emphasize your point that Medicaid is efficient.
Though we were constrained by the reimbursement to some degree we could rely on being paid. Therefore one can readily project revenue and build the best possible plan to provide the services for that revenue.
As the population-based Medicaid program was good and established our reputation, we were then attractive to other payers. I had less conflict in Managed care reviews because I had proof it was worth purchasing services from us.
Interestingly, in 2020, with the coming of COVID-19, there were dramatic shifts on the hospital administration side. A new, inexperienced CEO hired a consultant organization who promoted the idea that my programs would never be profitable enough and were a drain on healthcare resources.
We were undermined. I was discredited for serving those poor people. Every five years we did community surveys of health care needs. These always showed the programs we operated were at the top of what the community wanted and needed. That stopped mattering.
The administration has turned over again, and they lust after swanky programming to attract richer patients. They actually closed one of my clinics. Personally, I am so glad I’m outside of all of this presently. Cutting Medicaid will close that hospital and I don’t think they see their peril, yet.
Well the problem isn’t necessarily bad people needing punishment, it’s that we all must keep our eyes on what is essential and necessary and not get greedy; distracted by self-aggrandizement by other shiny objects. Some of us are better at that than are others.
I am always surprised at how we can all end up in circumstances where some people who have no real understanding of why we do what’s done still feel a need to dictate how we continue to do it. Competence isn’t always rewarded.
Addiction medicine treats a condition that impoverishes and disadvantages. As you now know, “those people“ aren’t everyone’s preferred customer.
Something that a lot of people don't realize is that Medicare doesn't cover longterm care. For middle class families with an older person who needs to be in a nursing home because cognitive or physical frailties make them unable to perform activities of daily living (which is a bar often far higher than the point at which someone can't safely be on their own, especially for cognitive decline -- a whole other can of worms in how the US manages eldercare), the only viable route is to spend down assets until the person qualifies for Medicaid. That population not only doesn't fit the stereotype of inner-city (read non-white) poverty, it isn't a demographic that in terms of lifetime socioeconomic status is poor at all. And cutting off that route would, like so many Republican policies, disproportionately impact women, who do the majority of caregiving.
Incidentally, caregiving is also a major reason why someone might be on Medicaid when they could theoretically be employed. I was on Medicaid while I was a caregiver for parents. I was working. I was doing a full time, indeed, 24/7 job that was both physically demanding and highly skilled. I just wasn't being paid for it.
I am currently in a Medicaid spend-down situation for my mother. The regs are the financial equivalent of a minefield. I am anticipating spending a significant amount of time documenting the five year look-back period.
My nephew is on Medicaid. Why? He has Down Syndrome and is unable to work the kind of job that would support him much less provide insurance coverage. I suspect that many of us have friends or relatives who will be hurt, if not hurt themselves. He lives in the reddest county in WI. His caregiver, paid by SSI, is hardcore MAGA. We're waiting for that show to drop
Americans still think that the remedy for these situations lies in the ballot box: piss off enough people and they'll vote for another party. However, this doesn't work in autocracies, and you're a full-blown one now, if you look at every marker.
Yeah, you’re right, these thugs are not going to give up power without bloodshed. The only way this will end is through the barrel of a gun. The Guardian this morning has an article on the fear republicans in Congress are feeling from threats and intimidation by his goons. And this has been going on for years. Add Thugocracy to the list of all the other -ocracies used to describe this reign of terror. It’s just a matter of time before this spirals into violence, I’m sorry to say.
Yup, I’ve been saying this for some time now. People are rising up, there have been protests & demonstrations all over the country. And this movement is growing. It’ll only be a matter of time when Trump will ‘be forced to take action’ and voilà! MARTIAL LAW. And in that very moment, you can kiss your civilian government (already in disarray) AND your democracy goodbye. All part of the plan. Here’s a prophecy no one paid enough attention to last summer… On July 2, 2024, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts created controversy by saying, "we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be." By the end of that month, Kevin Roberts assumed leadership of Project 2025 when the previous director stepped down ‘to concentrate on the election’.
The problem of course, for their little dictatorship is that America is an armed camp. The Autocrats can declare martial law, hire goons, but that just intensifies the push back, which will be equally violent. We may see assassinations, i think that's where we are headed. Many many people in this country have the skills and the means....I will not be shocked if we see a few. And it will have a chilling effect of its own. Luigi is a hero to many.
After the GOP fell in line on the budget, I suspect that they not only fear being primaried but they also fear the MAGA brown-shirts will attack them and their families. That was the beauty of pardoning all of the Jan.6th criminals. Thugs for Trump are now immune from prosecution.
I cover the State of West Virginia as part of my job. The people in West Virginia are largely the most respectful and kind people that you will ever find. When you drive in from Ohio or Pennsylvania you see the sign "Welcome to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia". I was stunned how overwhelming their support was for Donald J Trump. The amount of MAGA hats that I saw in the last campaigns was substantial. Unfortunately the people in West Virginia bought the Trump myth hook line and sinker. The attack on Medicaire by the billionaire class is beyond stupid. We are essentially going to remove medical coverage for millions of poor Americans because the 1% need another tax break. To make matters worse this is largely being done by a party that aligns itself with Christian Nationalists. Not sure what version of Jesus Christ they believe in? As I said to my employee Linda yesterday I will always remember being taught to sing a song in first grade at a Catholic elementary school in Ohio "And they know we are Christians by our love, by our love.....Not sure that those who have less are feeling the love? Completely lost on what Christian Nationalists actually believe in?
Your West Virginia population (like all of the US) was repeatedly warned about the consequences of voting for Trump. Cutting taxes for the most wealthy and cutting services for the needy was always on the table. This should not be a surprise. They are getting what they voted for, and inflicting Trump on the rest of the US and world. I'm sorry, but I do not pity them for losing their health care now under Trump, as harsh as that may sound. They are getting exactly what they voted for, plain and simple. I hope they all stay healthy.
You need to deepen your understanding. See my other post, please. You are condemning people who are living in conditions you can't imagine, and traumatized by the inescapability of that for believing the lying a**h**** who promised to make things great again. People often give their all to liars, frauds and cheats, out of a desperate need to believe they have something helpful to offer. It's sad. They deserve your understanding and compassion, not condemnation.
I live in the South so I know a lot of MAGA people. Also have more than a few in my extended family. They are all well educated and financially well off. Some are quite rich. Some vote on the delusional idea that Trump will be better for the economy and they don't want to pay taxes but most just want to own the libs. The things some of them say is beyond hateful. One relative told my spouse they wanted to see all Democrats put to death — knowing he and our immediate family are all Democrats. These people are like millions of MAGA people. They deserve no sympathy.
No, they don't. They are morally ugly.
It’s more like they are our enemies.
Let’s keep the war civil! Unlike the Civil War!
Your economy is going to suffer more when Donald Trump puts Tariffs on Canada next week and the following weeks. Will hurt both of our Countries.
I wonder if he actually will put tariffs on Canada and Mexico? I think he'll go after Europe next. If Canadians keep booing America he might hit with tariffs. He's that petty.
I can see tariffs going off China and hitting our former allies instead. Defiance and defense of democracy and rule of law will be hard for Trump/Musk to swallow.
He started it. Starting next week and the following weeks
We are angry at Donald Trump No need for Tariffs. Prices will go up. Hurt both of our Countries needlessly.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-MA) asked a few Trump apparatchiks lately, what Trump would have done differently if he were not a Putin plant. Occam's Razor still slashes.
Not everyone who voted for Trump is a hateful MAGA.
The ones in my Southern neighborhood tend to be. I had a Democratic candidate's sign in my yard; I get trash thrown onto my lawn regularly. I can't prove these two are related, but it seems likely. My well-off neighbor across the street, with three cars for a household of two, flies a "dont tread on me flag." I called during a hurricane to tell them the cover was coming off one of their cars. The way the phone was answered made it clear that I was a nuisance--before they knew why I called.
Those who are not hateful are just ignorant, which is not much better. But in part they are ignorant because my state only requires that schools provide "a minimally adequate education." That keeps the grifters in office.
They voted for hateful policies, so that = hateful MAGA as far as I'm concerned.
No, but many are. I would rather face uncomfortable truths about thr racism that continues to blight out nation than pretend it doesn't exist.
We had friends for 30+ years. In thr last five to seven years their intwrest
narrowed to politics. It was frustrating because we had share so many common interests. But when I begsn looking back at our conversations I had to recognize how many thry would quietly work in criticism of people of color, and other non-white groups.
White people could do not wrong.
Then what are they?
Exactly
We “ have” to try understand them yet zero effort is made on their part to try to understand people like me who didn’t vote for Trump. Instead we are told to cry our “liberal tears” harder. So I’m done trying to understand people who have no interest in me . And frankly want to hurt me.
I am not wasting any more time or energy trying to "understand " Uncle Bigot.
It is past time to begin facing the ugly truth that many Americans are angry, vengeful racists. If only those awful liberals,LGBTQ people and black people would just DIE. That's what these people want. Don't waste my time telling me that they are "wonderful and ki d" or that thry go to church. Their God is as warped and hateful as they are.
👆👆👆🎯
You are conflating what you are seeing from well off assholes on Twitter with those people living in these rural depressed places. They don’t have the luxury of being terminally online.
I bet they get plenty of their 'info' from X, Facebook, et al. so it's likely they are in fact online.
Thanks to Biden's E-BRIDGE Act there is much more likelihood they will have access to the internet.
Will they ever find out that President Biden did that for them?
My Magic 8 Ball says "no".
No, I am using observations that I have made over decades of extended family members WHO DON'T LIKE BLACKS. PERIOD.
When the Slave Power grows the only solution is to hope for another Sherman. To destroy it for another 100 years.
They overwhelming condemn democrats and “the libs”. They vote for policies that are killing & subjugating women & minorities across the nation. I’m over being told to look at them with compassion & understanding. They are never told to look at us that way. Let’s look at them with compassion all the way to the gulag guys!
Absolutely not. They deserve zero empathy. Their gullible hatred, bigotry and stupidity have put not only them in this position but millions more. along with all their offspring who will have to deal with climate change far worse than it needed to be. I hope all of them suffer in every way possible. To put it in terms they can understand, they Reap what they Sow. For the rest of us, its FAFO.
The problem is how can you make peace with people who deny reality exists? They’re so programmed by right wing propaganda they’ll actually believe the economy and stock market are crashing because of Biden, and increasing inflation and job losses are also not Trump’s fault. Sure there may be some low info dupes who finally realize 2+2=4, I guess those are the ones to work with. I just have little time or patience for these dummies who already saw this play out and still decided to vote for this corrupt whiny incompetent felon.
Experience is the only teacher adults have. Everyone deserves a good teacher.
Perhaps they are getting one in voting against their self interest. The question what will these people do next. They certainly have the opportunity to get in their congressionals’ faces and say no but will they bother? Who knows. It is stunning the number of people I come across who buy the opinion media lies.
You go hug those hell bent on murdering your children’s future.
All very well, but how does that help the current situation? 70+million people voted for Trump. Do we patronize them all; do we owe them more understanding than they owe us? Their rationales are often religious and racial based: how to get past this? I just don't see how it helps! I want change but can't see how this effects it.
Sometimes people who do something to their own detriment need to go all the way down. They have to lose a lot and need their noses rubbed in the loss. I think it is safe to say from top to bottom, MAGAts auto-propagandize on Faux Snooze all day, every day and believe the lies. Maybe this will start to break the loop. Better than many people on here, as a retired Internist, I understand what people without access to healthcare go through and if the rethugs succeed in killing Medicaid, you are going to see a huge rise in unavoidable deaths and medical bankruptcies (something which doesn't occur in any other industrialized democracy).
I screwed up here... I should have typed 'a huge rise in avoidable deaths'.
Yes. Godwin's law and all that but the German people only learned their lesson after they lost a big chunk of the Kaiser's Reich in 1918 and then more chunks of it in 1945. Sad but true. But for those over 25 it's going to be a tough 30 years.
I have no f*cks left to give for racists.
Compassion? Not anymore. 2016 may have been an aberration but 2024 was a deliberate choice. A choice for a lying, grifting, treasonous, adjudicated rapist and convicted felon. They KNEW who and what they were voting for.
No. I’m done understanding. Their choices are being inflicted upon all of us.
Look at his cabinet. Look at it the incompetence. Look at the lies. We’ve got a Russian asset at NSA, a heroin freak at NIH, another Russian asset at FBI, a dismantling of the FDA, FTC, EPA. Our military headed by a drunk and woman abuser. A complete abandonment of Ukraine and Europe. A dismantling of our armed services.
Their treachery will affect all of us.
Nope. No. I want anyone who voted for that disgusting human being and his policies to suffer the consequences of their decision.
Enough already.
I hope they cut Medicaid. I want them to wake the fuck up.
For those of us with a 90 year old paraplegic parent who is close to running out of assets the thought of Medicaid going away is terrifying. My parent incontinent and requires 24 x 7 care. I cannot care for my parent without help as I cannot move her by myself. She is not overweight but she cannot assist with moving herself at all. She needs to be turned every two hours to prevent bedsores. None of us are MAGA, but will suffer mighty if Medicaid goes away.
Those of you who are wishing that Medicaid goes away to harm MAGA voters are also condemning people who do not support those viewpoints to a loss of medical care. You are assuming that only MAGA voters are on Medicaid. That is not a valid assumption.
My parent worked all her life as a nurse. The majority of her career was during a time when nurses were not paid well and received no fringe benefits, like pensions or 401ks.
Remember that there are lots of old ladies in nursing homes who have exhausted all their assets and need Medicaid to provide care. Many of them are on hospice care.
I have a 93 year old mother as well. I do understand and don’t wish anyone on Medicaid ill.
But Tell me, how do we get through to these MAGAs?
Unless they themselves are affected or hurt in some way? West Virginians hair is currently on fire because TFG (THE GUY THEY VOTED FOR) has rescinded the insulin cap. Prices have skyrocketed back up and they are upset. Who they should be upset with is themselves for being taken in. Again.
They voted for this. Did they think this was all about arresting migrants?
Never mind that Americans don’t want that job, that food will rot in fields and prices will skyrocket. Again. What did they expect? That THIS guy gives a damn about them? He ran to stay out of jail. Musk was in the tank to ELEVEN different government agencies. Which agencies did he go after first?
What will it take for these MAGAs to wake the hell up? To vote against republicans who wrote the bill that’s cutting Medicaid? It’s the REPUBLICANS.
Their poor choices affects ALL of us. Only billionaires and millionaires will benefit from these policies. Not me. Not you. Not your family.
So I’ll ask again, what will it take for these folks to wake the hell up? Other than being personally affected. WHAT?
I'm beginning to wonder if the goal of the oligarchy is to change this part: "Americans don't want that job". Drive them to despair so they will take any job. Bring back the Bourbon Aristocracy, this time nationwide.
Medicaid is the largest single payer for nursing home care for the elderly and indigent (which is almost everyone over time bc nursing home care is SO very expensive).
He was there for all to see. And this time he ran a foul, vile campaign of retribution against "enemies from within." And they cheered. They will never get my compassion, they don't deserve it.
Leigh, with all due respect, maybe this is the only path forward for the country, long term—to finally make life so painful that this population of voters wakes up to the psychopathy and insanity of the GOP (a literal death cult) to ensure that future generations of poor and disenfranchised Americans don’t have to go through this, therefore saving more lives in the end.
But Harris and all other democrats also brand themselves as allies to the regular folks. Why Trump? I don’t want to believe they are all racist but it’s very hard to understand.
Ignorance and believing lies explains 90% of it.
The right wing propaganda is very effective. I once read that Hitler first told a truth that everyone could believe, then he tied that to something that had a bit of truth and lies, then tied that to all lies. I listened to Rush Limbaugh with a friend of mine 40 years ago. That was exactly what he did. It's very effective.
Hearing lies over and over and over is also a very effective strategy.
Add in misogyny, amnesia (we are still in the post-Covid environment), and the decline in a shared, truthful media environment, and there you have it.
He is a Celebrity. I find the American people love there Celebrities.
More like a has-been. For anyone who has two good eyes and a functioning brain.
did he condemn anyone other than the GOP
I understand your position and you are not wrong. Just cannot believe how fast King Donald and Queen Elonia turn on their supporters.
Why are you surprised? Trump is a con man. He's been one his entire life. He lies as he breathes. Furthermore, Trump gave his supporters throughout this country the right to shout their racism and hatred. He told them it's ok.
Plus, thanks to SCOTUS he is immune for his actions, and the Republican members of Congress won’t impeach him. There are no remaining guardrails, so why would anyone expect him to suddenly develop any socially appropriate self-regulation? It’s been clear for decades he has no threshold of embarrassment.
They’ve never given a flying F about their supporters. TFG wanted to stay out of prison and musk was being investigated by 11 different agencies that he dismantled.
Wake up already. This was NEVER about helping their supporters.
no surprise here, except if only Trump can fix it, what's Musk doing? Also, who should get top billing? is it the TM or MT regime?
If only Trump can fix it we are screwed. Multiple trips to bankruptcy court. The only thing he ever tried to fix was an election! After he lost!
eMpTy regime
Fostering endless dependency is not a show of respect.
Burger King 🤴. And the electrifying Dairy Queen 👸
You'll be excoriated for your views. You are supposed to be empathetic, compassionate; communicate with the victim; understand where they're coming from. On the other hand, if you deny people - adults - their agency, their ability to make their own decisions and be responsible for them - you are excoriated for that, too.
If their only information came from Faux Noise, Xwiitter, and equally biased right-wing sources, they had no warning.
Correct. I read an article in either the Post or the Times to the effect that all of Trump's ads talked only about high prices. Nothing about any of the stuff that was getting press coverage elsewhere. If you didn't see anything but Fox stuff and didn't read any press that wasn't a Murdoch rag, you couldn't see any of this coming.
You might be on to something there.
I think most people thought that Trump’s most radical ideas were bluster. Yes, by know people should know better, but he’s an effective snake oil salesman.
When they only watch fox and listen to josh they weren't warned about any consequences of trump, only Kamala.
To gmfeld, if these people were educated I would agree with you. But West Virginia stands at 50 out of 50 in educating its children. Generations of semi-literacy in a population 90% white tells me these people haven't a clue. They are being told by their legislators 'You are poor because the libs take all your money and give it to colored people'. Their preachers tell them the same thing.
I lived in WV for over 20 years, and you are right about how nice people can be there, but it is a clannish place, nonetheless. One way to understand this is that the poverty and ignorance has resulted in a kind of PTSD, and people who are traumatized often cling to imagined 'saviors' who promise to help. Kind of like a woman with low self esteem who marries a brute who lays it on thick that he loves her, she's beautiful, etc., and then proceeds to beat her half to death every time she fails to satisfy his insane and self-centered demands. When I see Trump & Co., I see echoes of this. These puffed up degenerates are sucking the life out of us in a creepily similar way.
West Virginia could have been Colorado - they have mountains, rivers (with some of the best rafting anywhere), access to local agriculture, lots of outdoor activities, but even closer to large population centers. But they chose to embrace their underground natural resources and not their recreational resources and instead of prospering (year round) like Colorado they are a declining. Totally agree on an individual level lots of really nice people.
as goethe said 'pity the poor german-so admirable in the individuality,so wretched in the collectivity.'
They are nice unless you're Black. If you're Black they wish you dead and exclude you. A really fake niceness if you ask me.
That's because if you are white, you must be "christian" and thus racist like them.
They did NOT choose to be exploited for their natural resources. They were exploited by the very same types of people(wealthy, greedy) that are exploiting them again.
We do have the view that WVA is a state dominated by coal mining. The biggest employer in WVA are in health care and related fields. Coal mining employment has declined mostly because of automation. If we are going to hard rock mine coal we really do not want a large workforce as it is very dangerous.
And besides, strip mining is cheaper and faster to allow the likes of Joe Manchin to really rake it in. Ditto blowing the tops off of those mountains.
The preference for mining turns out to be an even worse choice with these factors - you are not getting jobs and ruining the landscape. Also as they have mined out the best coal seams they are now mining deposits with a lot more rock intermixed resulting in sky high cases of silicosis (black lung disease) which is a horrible way to die. Drive through the state and you will see competing billboards looking to hire new miners and looking to sign up existing miners to sue their employers for silicosis. The underfunding and industry capture of MSHA - driven by republican politics - makes this an even sadder story.
Didn’t mining start before the age of mass tourism?
Agree with you.
Christian Nationalists are not Christian. They are Old Testament believers - the ones who were disappointed that Christ didn't come here to become a warrior king. Christianity is all about the sermon on the mount and the sermon at the last supper. It is not about punishing the poor.
they HIDE behind the word Christian..if Christ where to show up ;) he would NOT APPROVE - no no no - NOT Christ like behaviour ...THEY ARE NOT CHRISTIAN...more cult like really
"Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods. He believed in love and peace and never wore no shoes. Long hair, beard, and sandals, and a funky bunch of friends. Reckon they'd just nail him up if he came down again." - Kris Kristofferson.
Or punishing homosexuals or banning abortion.
I disagree. Christianity as centuries of nasty, reactionary behavior of all kinds. It is a weakness that Christians should be on guard for. Religionists welcomed the liberalist order and religionists have tried to destroy the liberalist. Reserving some view of 'true' Christianity is unwarranted.
Gnostics.
Please explain what you mean by Old Testament believers?
People who follow the crazy stuff like Leviticus, the one they cherry pick to be against homosexuality.
"I say we call them Leviticans, after Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament, famous for its rules, and also the home of the passages most likely to be thrown out by Leviticans to justify their intolerance (including, in recent days, against gays and lesbians -- Leviticus Chapter 18, Verse 22: "Thou shalt not not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination").
To suggest that a Christian is actually a Levitican is not to say he or she is false in faith -- rather, it is to suggest that their faith is elsewhere in the Bible, in the parts that are easy to understand: The rules, the regulations, all the things that are clear cut about what you can do and what you can't do to be right with God. Rules are far easier to follow than Christ's actual path, which needs humility and sacrifice and the ability to forgive, love and cherish even those who you oppose and who oppose and hate you. Any idiot can follow rules; indeed, there's a good argument to made that idiots can only follow rules. This is why Leviticans love Leviticus (and other pentateuchal and Old Testament books): Chock full of rules. And you can believe in rules. That's why they're rules."
https://www.scalzi.com/whatever/002675.html
I feel compelled to give more information on Leviticus.
There are many teachings in the Old Testament that we find abhorrent today. Only Orthodox Jews follow the letter of the law. There have always been reinterpretations of passages written over the years by Biblical scholars. The Old Testament is thousands of years old.
The name "Leviticus" comes from the Greek word Leuitikon, which means "connected to those from the tribe of Levi". The book of Leviticus in the Bible is named after the Levites, a priestly group from Israel.
Key themes in Leviticus
Holiness: Being close to God, obeying religious laws, and maintaining purity
Atonement: The process of repaying a debt and purifying oneself
Sanctification: The idea that receiving God's forgiveness should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth
What's in the book?
Leviticus explains how to have personal access to God through worship
It details how to be spiritually acceptable to God by living obediently
It introduces the five basic categories of sacrifices: burnt, grain, well-being, purification, and reparation offerings
It includes rules such as not mating different kinds of animals or wearing clothing woven of two kinds of material
The overall message of Leviticus is sanctification. The book communicates that receiving God's forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and ...
Chuck Swindoll
Leviticus Meaning - Bible Definition and References
E] The third book in the Pentateuch is called Leviticus because it relates principally to the Levites and priests and their services. The book is generally held...
Bible Study Tools
Book of Leviticus | Guide with Key Information and Resources
“Leviticus” is the Latin transliteration of the Greek Leuitikon, which means “connected to those from the tribe of Levi.” The name Leviticus reflects the import...
The Bible Project
Leviticus: What Is Atonement? - The Bible Project
Jun 6, 2022 — The Hebrew word for atonement, kippur, means two things: to repay a debt and to purify. Whether we're talking about levitical sacrifices or Jesus' de...
BibleProject
Holiness Code in Leviticus | Chapters, Themes & Analysis
In Leviticus, holiness means being close to God and acting according to God's will. It means maintaining purity and obeying religious laws.
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Bible Gateway Leviticus 19 :: NIV - MIT
"`Do not mate different kinds of animals. "`Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "`Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. "`If a man sl...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
What is the meaning of the levitical Law?
Levitical Law stresses separation from all uncleanness and sin in order to live wholesome, God-honoring lives. At the same time, it recognizes Israel's proneness to sin and shows the need for atonement and cleansing in order to maintain their relationship with the holy God.May 20, 2019
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What was the purpose of the Levitical Law? - Quora
Did Jesus write the book of Leviticus?
Jesus did not write any book of the Bible, but, he did leave the disciples to write down everything that they saw concerning him and the accounts of the …Oct 7, 2021
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What book of the Bible did Jesus write? - Quora
Many Jewish and Christian traditions hold that Moses is the author of Leviticus. However, authorship is not explicitly stated within the book.
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Book of Leviticus | Guide with Key Information and Resources
What are the rules of Leviticus?
"`Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "`Do not practice divination or sorcery. "`Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. "`Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.
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Bible Gateway Leviticus 19 :: NIV - MIT
What is the main point of Leviticus?
AI Overview
+5
The main point of the Book of Leviticus is to instruct the Israelites on how to live holy lives so that God would dwell among them. The book emphasizes the idea of sanctification, or being set apart from the ordinary and becoming holy.
Key themes:
Holiness
The book's key theme, which is emphasized by the Hebrew word qadash, which appears over 150 times
Sanctification
The idea that God's forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth
Sacrifice
A way to atone for sins and to praise God
Priesthood
The appointment of priests as special representatives who can go into God's presence on behalf of others
I’m well aware they were rules for a tribe to help keep them alive, in a time when they didn’t know why people got harmed from things like shellfish in the summer months, or pork that wasn’t cooked properly. These were people who knew nothing of germs, or even where the sun went at night. What I take issue with is attaching another tribe’s rules to your book, to usurp their authenticity.
I consider your response quite condescending.
Have you ever noticed that what Christian nationalists preach has nothing in common with Jesus’s teachings or the example he set? Jesus could not have cared less about people’s sex lives — not one mention of abortion or homosexuality but a lot of talk about caring for the least among us. That is why the Pope recently slapped down JD Vance’s twisted view of the obligations of Christian love and why he has been pushing right wing Catholic US bishops to focus on the teachings of Jesus, not on culture wars.
YUP I noticed....a cult is more like it hiding behind a popular NAME but acting how they choose..not how Christ would ACT
right-it's a popular name-good politically to claim to be religious,esp.christian
If you ever attend one of their services, you'll see that they don't preach Christ. They preach Paul.
They even twisted the parable of the good Samaritan (on fox propaganda channel) to say you didn't have to help others!
Thry might be wonderful, kind people, but they are largely white and never ever think that they might lose benefits. It will only be THOSE PEOPLE ( code for people of color) who havr been stealing their benefits. If WV suffers a wave of hospital closures and worse health, thry brought it on themselves. I am not wasting my sympathy on racists and fools.
You meant to say Medicaid, not Medicare... There are many reasons for the rightward shift- guns, a general belief in libertarianism, etc.. Krugman has written many articles about the demise of high paying (but very risky) coal jobs in W VA. The right blames it all on the libs, which is partially true (Coal combustion and mining are awful for health and the climate), but more of the job losses can be explained by mechanization. I sadly believe the only way for certain people to change how they vote is when they lose their jobs and their health insurance while also experiencing higher inflation on the stuff they buy (think Walmart crap and eggs).
Thank you for clarifying Medicaid, not Medicare, is the immediate target for reductions. As for people changing their voting habits after they lose jobs and experience inflation, they didn’t after the 1981-1983 recession and haven’t changed since then. Despite manufacturing and natural resource extraction employment declining by 10-15% and inflation running above 5%, the voters most harmed by that recession voted for Reagan again. Over the past 50 years “Republican” has become an identity cult, not a political party. I once had some hope younger generations would become the solution to this problem, but the results of the 2024 election showed they are just as susceptible to identify politics as their parents and grandparents. Sigh.
And there you have struck upon why the GOP administration and Congress arrogantly believe they can harm their voters as much as they want to support the top 1% and still retain the votes
That's because the damage by Reagan didn't hit them hard enough to change their vote. This time, they're gonna get hit good and hard. That might just be enough to wake them up.
Except this time, after Trusk is done they are not going to matter. There's enough voter suppression already and 2026 is going to see massive manipulation, and by 2028 we can see reelection (or the anointing of Kim Jr. Oops I meant Donnie).
I think there's some truth to that. I also think Democrats will finally wake up and scream bloody murder at the scam. If it gets bad enough, it could trigger Civil War 2.0.
I hope it doesn't come to that, but King Krasnov is playing with some seriously volatile substances. It might blow up in his face - literally.
Sorry for the mistake! I do know the difference between the budget deficit and the national debt.
It seems to cult like features, like the inability to listen to even mild criticisms of Trump.
I think we have seen the rise of 'Republican Jesus'. I remember one of the higher-ups in the Southern Baptist Convention lamenting in the last couple of years that his flock were telling him the Beatitudes were too woke...
SS officers were very nice, too. Had puppies, loved their kids. So?
Exactly, this.
Christian Nationalists are the latest version of the KKK. No stupid hats and robes though...
Yes, WV, and other ruby red states, bought the trump BS hook, line, and sinker. And now they will be struggling like a fish out of water for taking the hook again..
Well, they do have a stupid red hat that identifies them
That's true. You can see, them coming from a mile away.... I think they wear those caps to hide their pointy little heads.
Start putting up signs saying “ Hospital Closed to give Elon Musk Tax Breaks”
Thank you for this. I, too constantly remember singing that in church. "They will know we are Christians by our love". And being stunned that so many folks who claim to be Christians putting up "mass deportation now" signs and "they're eating the cats and dogs". And the like. That does not seem like love to me.
The people in need voting for Trump have a fatalist approach to their lives. The Calvinist theology requires that if they are not predestined by the grace of God to life enjoyment then must suffer enough to convince God thay there has been a mistake and they belong under His Grace.
I don't know about that. I do know that the church in western North Carolina in which my mother was raised put a great deal of emphasis on the sanctity of poverty. The gospel says something like "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into Heaven."
Only one slight correction to your informative post: the 1% want another tax break. They sure as hell don't need one.
I am so tired of the phrase “Good Christian as if being one is the only way
It's kind of an oxymoron these days, one does not necessarily equate to the other. You certainly can be good, without being christian.
They believe in eugenics. They are afraid of homosexuals and trans people, they see them as the dawn of an evil era. They are very childish and immature. Jesus for them is an orderly world. They call upon Jesus to create a world where whites are highly placed and all people of color are lowly placed. For this segment of society, Christianity is a means to impose homogeneity and conformism on the world. It is an anemic world view and I am glad that the horrific consequences of these valurs are so readily visible at this time. Christians are not about love tolerance or humanity. They are about control and power and even genocide. It is time to eviscerate the Christian movement which is seeking to impose a rigid and ruthless theocracy on America, to eradicate sexual freedom, eradicate reproductive freedom, re-enslave Blacks, crush women and force them back into the kitchen.
"The people in West Virginia are largely the most respectful and kind people that you will ever find."
I always wonder at these perceptions, because my white sister said that about places where nonwhites aren't treated well.
As a physician working in a lower income area, I am grateful that Medicaid allows me to take care of people so that they don't suffer and die from catastrophic neglected diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Babies can be born healthy. Countrary to the lies being put out there, undocumented patients are not eligible for Medicaid. Emergency medicaid could apply to undocumented, but only for emergency treatment, which saves hospitals from bankruptcy when they are required to treat anyone who walks through the door. Also, pregnant women can all get emergency medicaid during their pregnancies which more than pays for itself avoiding horribly expensive care for premature and terribly sick newborns. Only sociopaths want millions of people to suffer so that a few people can add to their excess.
I know three doctors (Canadians), who returned to Canada after stints in the U.S. because, as one described it to me, "even though I make less money in Canada, in Canada I can practice medicine", precisely the environment you describe.
I've had a similar experience teaching in a family medicine training program
I do not understand why people accept this.
It's because big money has systematically bought up most media, and the information & opinion we get from them reflects their politics. Congress has been bought for a LONG time. They just managed to hide it.
Read-
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policycast/oligarchy-open-what-happens-now-us-forced-confront-its-plutocracy
2011 study looking at 30 years:
"Political outcomes overwhelmingly favored very wealthy people, corporations, and business groups.
The influence of ordinary citizens, meanwhile, was at a “non-significant, near-zero level.”
America, they concluded, was not a democracy at all, but a functional oligarchy. "
the Powell memo, (this is a 50 year plan, now coming to full effect)
https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/the-scheme-1-the-powell-memo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2018/sep/26/america-oligarchy-dominated-billionaires-big-money-series
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/08/rich-people-rule/ (Paywall)
Sociopaths dominate in business and Republican politics.
Eric—thank you for choosing to practice medicine in a low income area. Also for clearly stating how Medicaid so positively allows you to do this. Carry on!
Thanks much, Richard.
Gutting Medicaid would be catastrophic for health care from hospitals to sold practitioners. The community mental health services systems across USA would shut down. People would die. We need a general strike. Everyone stay home
We need the infrastructure for that. Where’s the billion-dollar strike fund? Who is administering it? Who funds it?
We have done nothing to prepare for the obvious.
Exactly. Calling for a general strike when the US working class can’t even manage to organise car manufacturing in the South seems a little….ambitious. No?
Let us not forget, many want to strike, but putting a roof over their heads and feeding their children must come first. Reality sucks
That’s precisely the point. Strikes are important, but the US working class is, shall we say, a bit out of practice lately. Calling for a general strike in those circumstances is simply childish performative nonsense, typical of the US left.
Unions have been decimated and now we see why we need strong unions. America will not be a safe place to live if sick people become homeless beggers and children who don't get vaccines and health care start dying. Disease and poverty will explode from the inner cities onto all the pretty suburban streets.
Agree with the need for a general strike (and with the idea that very bad things are going to happen to people). After Reagan fired the air traffic controllers and opened the door to corporate attacks on unions, we came close to a general strike in 1981 when unions still represented over 30% of workers but the Reagan hardhats in the building trades had outsized control through AFL-CIO president George Meaney and they vetoed that idea.
Here we are.
”Probably the most well-known scientific journal Nature writes a very serious editorial calling on the entire global research community to raise their voices. The freedom of research and the basic conditions for work are now being systematically attacked in the United States and affect the whole world.
Nature writes about how the Trump regime's attack on science means that thousands of scientists have been laid off, how funding is frozen and how certain words in scientific reports are banned. The repressive restrictions we see the repressive and authoritarian Trump regime subjecting research to hit the entire global research. It dismantles basic infrastructures such as databases and digital services, which directly threatens research worldwide, and our ability to conduct independent and evidence-based studies.
Nature further writes that grant review panels at the National Institutes of Health have been suspended, that USAID has put most of its 10,000 employees on furlough and made buildings and sites inaccessible. The consequences are dire – at least one million women have lost access to contraception, the United States plans to leave the World Health Organization, and all federal funding for international climate projects, equivalent to $11 billion (10% of global climate finance), has been suspended.
When research in the world's leading research nation falls silent under political repression, our ability in Europe and the world at large to fight climate change, respond to pandemics and develop technologies that are crucial for security and sustainability is also weakened. What we are now seeing is a systematic attack on science.
It is clear that an attack on American academic freedom not only harms democracy there, but also has repercussions for research and science throughout the world. The world is becoming a darker and more dangerous place. Less rich in thoughts, ideas and insights.
As researchers, we must contribute to making visible what is happening. We must stand up for those who are threatened with censorship, demand that these restrictions be lifted and remind that a world without free research is a world where prejudice and oppression risk replacing critical thinking and scientific progress.”-Carl Heath, RISE
It's also really bad for business. Destroying R and D, and the regulatory agencies that give assurances of safe and effective are terribly damaging.
I don't think they are doing it purposefully, but Trump is ignorant except of entertaining and grifting, and Musk is limited to anything but his chose passion. Right now he's fixated on ruling the world, which means crushing anyone who gets in his way.
It is obvious these No Nothings want us all to be know nothings. Driving down thought and scientific inquiry—critical thinking—and replacing it with mystic blather is a hallmark of totalitarianism.
Heres a link to one of the open access editorials from Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00562-w
Professor Krugman: anyone who has been paying attention over the last few decades knows that the GOP is the party of "Greed Over People". and, as you noted in this piece, rethuglicans are proud to vote for the GOP because they expect their party will focus their hatred and viciousness on "Those People" rather than gawd-fearing white people, such as themselves.
Something the other side never thinks about: People without access to healthcare get sick and spread disease. Even if a person is completely selfish, as Republicans are, that alone should be enough for them to want everyone to have access to healthcare so that THEY don't get sick! But, they don't see this because they are completely blinded by their hate for vulnerable people.
They don’t care because “I am not one of those people, associate with those people or know anyone who is or does. No reason to worry because I am safe.” Short sighted, unimaginative thinking, but here we are.
OMG! You nailed it with “unimaginative”! I’m going to start using that word, too.
Yes. There is fundamentally a different way of thinking. Dems ask honestly, what will happen? GOP chooses not to ask but assumes that they know what will happen. Unimaginative and not curious; lacking in empathy and somewhat amoral.
Some diseases for which there’s a vaccine are making a comeback. Big outbreak of measles in Texas. One child has died. But the vaccinated are mostly unaffected.
Might be in for a rude surprise, yes?
WWaCos?
My son is an avid player of video games - but he is also politically aware. We were talking this morning about the destruction of USA and he summed it up quite neatly in his 'gamer' language. "I'll be really glad when this is all over", he said, "feels like we're playing life permanently stuck in hard mode'.
As a person who came to WV as a young adult and closed out my therapy career there, working in a clinic that served the underserved I could never fully understand how so many 'real' West Virginians were voting for Republicans, even though most of my clients had Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and similar benefits largely unrolled and supported by Democratic administrations. One fine day when a member of WV's Supreme Court came to town the two of us sat at the corner table of the towns sole brewery bar and I asked him about it. He said, "It's because of what they hear preached at them from the pulpit every Sunday." Hmm. And how is it that those churches haven't lost their tax free status for violating the separation of church and state? And how is it that supposed Christians are so benighted? OMG.
The result of not being thought how to think, to analyze information. I think it’s a long term goal of republicans and now you are seeing the result.
Thanks for the facts about Medicaid. I'm not so poor, so I didn't know much about it. Politically, it seems that the Trump Party's efforts to gut it might rebound in their faces. But, they do have a way of blaming their faults on the Democrats. Look for those poor folks in W VA to think that somehow it was Joe Biden who took away their benefits.
Speaking of "overpriced drugs" and inefficiencies…
I'm on Medicare with Part D drug coverage. I take Eliquis the costly blood thinner.
In 2020, the FDA approved two versions of Apixaban, the Eliquis generic, for the US noting, “Today’s approvals of the first generics of apixaban are an example of how the FDA’s generic drug program improves access to lower-cost, safe and high-quality medicines”.
Big Pharma, in the form of the Axis-0f-Evil "Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Pfizer-Alliance" howled. In 2021 they sued the FDA and got a patent extension till '28 - to milk more $$ from America!!
What's the point? Eliquis costs $650 for the 1st refill, then $270/refill the rest of the year. Next year? Same-same.
Screw that! I got a copy of the script from my doc, sent it to a Canadian pharmacy that charges $105 for every refill of Apixaban, made in the UK, saving me over $1000/yr.
How about DOGEing that one, Muskovite???
Never happen. Never their goal. Their goal is to make everything far more expensive - more profitable and to privatize central gov functions (PO, Weather, FAA).
Did you check pricing on GoodRx or Mark Cuban’s website? Or check which part d insurers include eliquis on their formularies so your yearly out of pocket drug costs would be capped at $2000? I’m a SHIP volunteer and help seniors navigate these waters all the time. I’m guessing you didn’t ask for any help.
Thx Susan, I did check those sources, but via our former-allies, Canada and the UK, i'm buying Apixaban at the price the WHO negotiated (as I understand it) of $95 + shipping. My annual cost will be $420 (meaningful to this old hippie-chick) and I don't take any other meds, so no danger of hitting the $2k max. Thanks for your good work. Anne
Nursing homes! Medicaid is *the* source of their funding. That's the only way most people can have nursing home care - burn all your assets paying for it, then go on Medicaid.
I think the internal dynamic of these red states is that it's local country club crowd (the folks who own the car dealerships, fast food franchises, rental properties - all non-traded goods) who fund the state and republican apparatus that want to cut Medicaid because they don't want to pay the state tax contribution to these programs.
And the gerrymandering that makes State Houses unrepresentative, Congressional representation ditto, and US Senate apportionment a global disgrace.
Dunno. Tennessee has no State income tax and is solidly Republican. IIRC, it also didn't buy into the Medicaid expansion program.
Tennessee spends about $3 Billion on Medicaid each year (matched by about $6 billion in Federal Medicaid matching). That's out of $11B of total state tax collections - so it's a sizeable chunk. If Medicaid is cut by half, then that's a 10% tax cut for our fine local Republicans.
(You're right that TN doesn't have an income tax, but it has an investment tax, a high-ish sales tax and a solid corporate tax.)
I’ve recently retired, after a career building medical programs and practicing medicine in populations covered by Medicaid. I want to emphasize your point that Medicaid is efficient.
Though we were constrained by the reimbursement to some degree we could rely on being paid. Therefore one can readily project revenue and build the best possible plan to provide the services for that revenue.
As the population-based Medicaid program was good and established our reputation, we were then attractive to other payers. I had less conflict in Managed care reviews because I had proof it was worth purchasing services from us.
Interestingly, in 2020, with the coming of COVID-19, there were dramatic shifts on the hospital administration side. A new, inexperienced CEO hired a consultant organization who promoted the idea that my programs would never be profitable enough and were a drain on healthcare resources.
We were undermined. I was discredited for serving those poor people. Every five years we did community surveys of health care needs. These always showed the programs we operated were at the top of what the community wanted and needed. That stopped mattering.
The administration has turned over again, and they lust after swanky programming to attract richer patients. They actually closed one of my clinics. Personally, I am so glad I’m outside of all of this presently. Cutting Medicaid will close that hospital and I don’t think they see their peril, yet.
Maybe the best revenge to the decision makers but horrible to those in need of efficient and affordable care.
Well the problem isn’t necessarily bad people needing punishment, it’s that we all must keep our eyes on what is essential and necessary and not get greedy; distracted by self-aggrandizement by other shiny objects. Some of us are better at that than are others.
I am always surprised at how we can all end up in circumstances where some people who have no real understanding of why we do what’s done still feel a need to dictate how we continue to do it. Competence isn’t always rewarded.
Addiction medicine treats a condition that impoverishes and disadvantages. As you now know, “those people“ aren’t everyone’s preferred customer.
Something that a lot of people don't realize is that Medicare doesn't cover longterm care. For middle class families with an older person who needs to be in a nursing home because cognitive or physical frailties make them unable to perform activities of daily living (which is a bar often far higher than the point at which someone can't safely be on their own, especially for cognitive decline -- a whole other can of worms in how the US manages eldercare), the only viable route is to spend down assets until the person qualifies for Medicaid. That population not only doesn't fit the stereotype of inner-city (read non-white) poverty, it isn't a demographic that in terms of lifetime socioeconomic status is poor at all. And cutting off that route would, like so many Republican policies, disproportionately impact women, who do the majority of caregiving.
Incidentally, caregiving is also a major reason why someone might be on Medicaid when they could theoretically be employed. I was on Medicaid while I was a caregiver for parents. I was working. I was doing a full time, indeed, 24/7 job that was both physically demanding and highly skilled. I just wasn't being paid for it.
I am currently in a Medicaid spend-down situation for my mother. The regs are the financial equivalent of a minefield. I am anticipating spending a significant amount of time documenting the five year look-back period.
“We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”
― Arthur Miller, The Crucible
My nephew is on Medicaid. Why? He has Down Syndrome and is unable to work the kind of job that would support him much less provide insurance coverage. I suspect that many of us have friends or relatives who will be hurt, if not hurt themselves. He lives in the reddest county in WI. His caregiver, paid by SSI, is hardcore MAGA. We're waiting for that show to drop
Americans still think that the remedy for these situations lies in the ballot box: piss off enough people and they'll vote for another party. However, this doesn't work in autocracies, and you're a full-blown one now, if you look at every marker.
Yeah, you’re right, these thugs are not going to give up power without bloodshed. The only way this will end is through the barrel of a gun. The Guardian this morning has an article on the fear republicans in Congress are feeling from threats and intimidation by his goons. And this has been going on for years. Add Thugocracy to the list of all the other -ocracies used to describe this reign of terror. It’s just a matter of time before this spirals into violence, I’m sorry to say.
Yup, I’ve been saying this for some time now. People are rising up, there have been protests & demonstrations all over the country. And this movement is growing. It’ll only be a matter of time when Trump will ‘be forced to take action’ and voilà! MARTIAL LAW. And in that very moment, you can kiss your civilian government (already in disarray) AND your democracy goodbye. All part of the plan. Here’s a prophecy no one paid enough attention to last summer… On July 2, 2024, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts created controversy by saying, "we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be." By the end of that month, Kevin Roberts assumed leadership of Project 2025 when the previous director stepped down ‘to concentrate on the election’.
All. Part. Of. The. Plan.
Yes, I used that quote in a letter to the editor of another publication back last fall. I still remember the feeling I got when first reading it.
The problem of course, for their little dictatorship is that America is an armed camp. The Autocrats can declare martial law, hire goons, but that just intensifies the push back, which will be equally violent. We may see assassinations, i think that's where we are headed. Many many people in this country have the skills and the means....I will not be shocked if we see a few. And it will have a chilling effect of its own. Luigi is a hero to many.
After the GOP fell in line on the budget, I suspect that they not only fear being primaried but they also fear the MAGA brown-shirts will attack them and their families. That was the beauty of pardoning all of the Jan.6th criminals. Thugs for Trump are now immune from prosecution.